Hey! You! Display that better

Call me Bossy Britches, but I can’t resist hassling the vendors in the Exhibit Hall. "Why are you hiding the gems of your new titles behind these others?" I demanded last night.

The reply was that young and early reader easy chapter books don’t sell as well as picture books and nonfiction. Librarians don’t want to spend the $15 to purchase an easy reader so the publishers don’t bother promoting them or spending money on marketing that area.

Every week I hear from librarians who are seeking accessible chapter books to help their students transition from picture books to chapter fiction. I spend a huge amount of my time aiding students in accessing information from nonfiction books, but I need reviewers help in locating easy chapter books. I need strategies and suggestions. I need to know how to match these books.

For example, Three Little Robbers is perfect for my multicultural clientele, my folktale loving group, and my teachers who seek "good messages." You wouldn’t know it if you didn’t read the entire book or found reviews. I wish someone would develop the top ten early readers each year so I could purchase multiple copies and KNOW they would work. Help me out, readers.

Just wait until I get back in the exhibit hall this afternoon. I’m already rubbing my hands in glee. Let’s see who I can boss around today.